Our 5 gallon Betta build

[Billbug68]

So my fiancé and I were in Petco the other day and decided to get a new tank and a Betta for our bedroom... 5 g Fluval Chi. Got it set up and purchased a small piece of driftwood and a single plant. I want this tank to look really cool so any suggestions on plants, placement, rearranging, etc. are welcome! Here's a pic of what we've got so far. Obviously it will stay low tech and low light, so keep that in mind!




Also if anyone can ID the plant, that would be great, it was labeled as a crypt, no details as to of what kind though...

 

[Fishandmusic81]

So my fiancé and I were in Petco the other day and decided to get a new tank and a Betta for our bedroom... 5 g Fluval Chi. Got it set up and purchased a small piece of driftwood and a single plant. I want this tank to look really cool so any suggestions on plants, placement, rearranging, etc. are welcome! Here's a pic of what we've got so far. Obviously it will stay low tech and low light, so keep that in mind!

Also if anyone can ID the plant, that would be great, it was labeled as a crypt, no details as to of what kind though...

Nice tank!
And I can't say I exactly know the name of the plant
But some java fern and anubias attached to the driftwood or to some rocks would look good
A background plant would look good but I can't think of one that would fit in a 5 gallon I'm sure people on here will chime in

 

[Billbug68]

Nice tank!
And I can't say I exactly know the name of the plant
But some java fern and anubias attached to the driftwood or to some rocks would look good
A background plant would look good but I can't think of one that would fit in a 5 gallon I'm sure people on here will chime in

Thanks! Yeah i was thinking of getting some Anubis nana for somewhere. My java ferns in my 10g are sprouting daughter plants like crazy so I might have some in there too. I definitely gotta find a nice bushy background plant good for low tech... I'm loving this tank, been wanting a bedroom tank for a while so I'm really excited to see this come together!

 

[Fishandmusic81]

Thanks! Yeah i was thinking of getting some Anubis nana for somewhere. My java ferns in my 10g are sprouting daughter plants like crazy so I might have some in there too. I definitely gotta find a nice bushy background plant good for low tech... I'm loving this tank, been wanting a bedroom tank for a while so I'm really excited to see this come together!

Sounds good 
I cant wait to start my tanks 

 

[Billbug68]

So this tank has been up less than a week with some filter floss from my 10g and here are my readings woohoo! Time for my daily PWC!
Ammo-.50
Nitrite-.50
Nitrate-40

 

[Billbug68]

So it's been exactly a week since the tank has been set up this morning I was at
Ammo-.25
Nitrite-5+ off the charts
Nitrate-20-30

It's going really fast with the seeded filter media! Excited! We got an octopus plant for the right side so I'm not sure how that will do in this light. I still wanna pick up an anubias nana for the driftwood... I wanna keep this one simple and easy to maintain.

 

[LyndaB]

I hate to rain on your parade, especially because I think these tanks are gorgeous, but most bettas are jumpers. You'd have to be sure to keep the water level down enough that he can't flip himself out of the tank.

Great job on aquascaping. It's really a lovely tank.

 

[Billbug68]

I hate to rain on your parade, especially because I think these tanks are gorgeous, but most bettas are jumpers. You'd have to be sure to keep the water level down enough that he can't flip himself out of the tank.

Great job on aquascaping. It's really a lovely tank.

Yes I know that bettas can be jumpers but so far so good. Fluval does make a lid for this but I'm waiting till the price drops on amazon. Last time I check it was 17 bucks which IMO is ridiculous. I'd like to keep it off though cuz I love the look... I'll try to keep the water level low and keep my fingers crossed... thank you for the compliments though and your concern!

 

[Bettaluv]

Your tank looks gorgeous and the black gravel really shows off your betta! Yep, with the jumping it might be something to monitor. I know I never really had a big jumper, but it was good to have the lid just in case.
In terms of decor, from what I am seeing you are going with a rather zennish (word?) sort of theme. Great job so far though! It looks great! Something I know looks great in my zen themed tank is a smooth brown stone with black rings. It basically just adds to the presentation. You could also add some shells
I cant tell but if you don't already have one, you might want to look into purchasing a heater...just to keep the temperature steady

 

[Billbug68]

Thank you! If you look closely you can see the heater right in the middle of the tank, it stays at 78. I'm not sure what I was going for with the decor. I wanted something simple/natural because I don't really care for fake decorations. This is all we managed to pick up so far, and I like how simple it is. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to grow some type of ground cover but I'm not willing to ditch the filter/light/waterfall system that comes with the chi. I'll have to read up on zen gardens cuz I really have no idea what goes in to one! Haha

 

[Bettaluv]

Thank you! If you look closely you can see the heater right in the middle of the tank, it stays at 78. I'm not sure what I was going for with the decor. I wanted something simple/natural because I don't really care for fake decorations. This is all we managed to pick up so far, and I like how simple it is. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to grow some type of ground cover but I'm not willing to ditch the filter/light/waterfall system that comes with the chi. I'll have to read up on zen gardens cuz I really have no idea what goes in to one! Haha

Oh, well that's good, sorry but my computer is awful. I can barely see pictures and when I can, they are really blurry.
And I wasn't necessarily saying zen garden theme, because that would involve sand which is messy and no fun. But a zennish, peaceful sort of theme. If you are doing live plants, go with deep greens, and a centerpiece plant with maybe a splash of color in it. If fake plants, go natural looking
I also dislike the kiddy fake ornaments, so I get what you mean

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, after I read about zen gardens I was like ummm no... The pictures are probably blurry because they are taken with my iPhone so if the light is bad in the room it comes out like that. I can't decide if I want more plants and if so which ones? I'd prefer to keep a bushy plant as the background and the crypt and other plant mid ground like they are. Any ideas for the background?

 

[JRMagno]

I have hornwort as the background in my 5g. I hear it grows like crazy, but I plan to prune it like crazy. In my 30g I use cabomba but I'm not sure on the light requirement on it so I'm not sure if it would be ok in low light. In a small tank I also like the look of a wall of Anachris which grows well in low light, but it's a stem, not bushy

 

[Coursair]

Look at Anubias nana "Petite".
Your Crypt might be C lucens ??

I love Crypts. <3

My last Veil Tail Betta did great in my rimless 10g. Pics in my sig. They can be jumpers if startled, but most of my topless tanks are in my room. No cats or kids. I also often have floating plants.

Other easy plants ?
Narrow Leaf Java Fern
Ludwigia sp. you'd have to keep it trimmed.
Other Crypts.


I highly recommend buying from other Hobbyists.
Check our AA mart first.
Then check
TPT...The Planted Tank ( only members can see Sales Threads) and
APC...Aquatic Plant Central ( members only mart)
Both are free to join.

I've gotten great deals from fellow hobbyists.
Power Sellers are great, they have a ton of positive feedback.

 

[Billbug68]

I have hornwort as the background in my 5g. I hear it grows like crazy, but I plan to prune it like crazy. In my 30g I use cabomba but I'm not sure on the light requirement on it so I'm not sure if it would be ok in low light. In a small tank I also like the look of a wall of Anachris which grows well in low light, but it's a stem, not bushy

I don't really care for plants with needle type leaves. I actually got two bunches of hornwort once and just threw it out. To me it just has the potential of being to messy and possibly snagging the bettas fins. Anachris is a possibility, it's definitely something petco and petsmart always have so I won't have to drive to far or order online... I'll keep that in mind. My java fern in my 10g is producing tons of daughter plants do that might be an option as well. I'd like to keep the species list low so it looks natural, like a small spot you would see in nature, not just a bunch of different types of plants to fill space. I'm going to keep it at 2 or 3 different plants max.

 

[Billbug68]

Look at Anubias nana "Petite".
Your Crypt might be C lucens ??

I love Crypts. <3

My last Veil Tail Betta did great in my rimless 10g. Pics in my sig. They can be jumpers if startled, but most of my topless tanks are in my room. No cats or kids. I also often have floating plants.

Other easy plants ?
Narrow Leaf Java Fern
Ludwigia sp. you'd have to keep it trimmed.
Other Crypts.

I highly recommend buying from other Hobbyists.
Check our AA mart first.
Then check
TPT...The Planted Tank ( only members can see Sales Threads) and
APC...Aquatic Plant Central ( members only mart)
Both are free to join.

I've gotten great deals from fellow hobbyists.
Power Sellers are great, they have a ton of positive feedback.

I was thinking the crypt might be c. parva? Could be lucens though, I'll inspect more in a moment. I'd love to try some ludwigia, will it grow in low light with no co2? Any recommended type? I don't mind if anything grows slow, I just don't want it to die off. I'm worried about the amount of light.

Edit: I also have some anubias nana in my 10g that is doing well, can I clip some off and use it in the this 5g?

 

[Billbug68]

I'm also liking Rotala but it says moderate to high lighting. What about water sprite?

 

[Coursair]

I was thinking the crypt might be c. parva? Could be lucens though, I'll inspect more in a moment. I'd love to try some ludwigia, will it grow in low light with no co2? Any recommended type? I don't mind if anything grows slow, I just don't want it to die off. I'm worried about the amount of light.

Edit: I also have some anubias nana in my 10g that is doing well, can I clip some off and use it in the this 5g?

My Ludwigia repens grows under LEDs as well as Mini CFLs. No CO2 or heat. Just Flourish and root tabs ( for Crypts ).

Yes, you should be able to use trimmings. Just include some rhizome and roots.

 

[JakeVS]

I used to have rotalla macandara in my 5g, under a 10w cfl with success at first, but after about 5 months it thinned out and started to die off. Had to trim it every week as well, far too tall for the tank.

 

[Billbug68]

So here's a small update.

The tank finished cycling yesterday! Took 17 days. Today still tested 0,0,10 so I'm happy about that, and I'm sure our new betta is too. He's been a lot more active! I had a little trouble with him not eating, I tried flakes, freeze dried brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms and he wasn't interested in any of it. Tried some omega one betta buffet pellets and he loves them! He nearly jumps up at my fingers!

I added two root tabs last week, one near each plant. The crypt is doing well, it's grown a little taller, I'm not sure if there is any new growth as I haven't been keeping THAT close of any eye on it. The octopus plant is still green but doesn't seem to be growing much yet. In fact a couple of the tips turned brown so I just broke that part off. I'm also dosing a small amount of flourish comprehensive once a week so I'm not sure if that will help these plants...

I still haven't decided what other plants I'm gonna add... Since the crypt is doing well I'm considering possibly getting a larger type. Any suggestions are welcome, and can I spread them out to creat a bushy look for the background? Coursair I know you love crypts so help me out!

Here's a new pic and some close ups of the plants, don't mind my baby albino bn, he's getting re homed when I upgrade my 10g to something larger. Unless you guys think he'll be okay in here.